Bengaluru, July 7 (PTI) The 75th birthday bash planned for former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Davangere next month will be held under the aegis of the national party, Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar said on Thursday.

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Till now the event in the form of a massive convention on August 3 was projected as "apolitical", to celebrate and highlight Siddaramaiah's persona, career and contributions to the society, organised by his supporters and well-wishers.

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"Leader of Opposition (Siddaramaiah) is turning 75 years old..... It won't be a non-political event, it has been decided that the birthday event will happen on the party's platform. Preparations are for the same at Davangere on August 3, all of us will be participating," Shivakumar said.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with party leaders and office-bearers here, he said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will attend the event, and has given his consent for the same.

Responding to a query that it was earlier projected by the organisers that the event will be apolitical, Shivakumar said, "Siddaramaiah is our leader. Our party leaders have formed a committee to organise it.... Congress party has taken leadership, all of us will participate."

According to sources, the decision to organise the event under the aegis of the Congress might have been taken foreseeing the risk of it becoming a show of strength for Siddaramaiah ahead of 2023 assembly polls.

Other than projecting Siddaramaiah and his contributions, the event is also being seen as an attempt to send a message to both the high command and his detractors within the party, ahead of polls, while consolidating his 'AHINDA' vote base.

AHINDA is a Kannada acronym that stands for 'Alpasankhyataru' (minorities), 'Hindulidavaru' (Backward Classes) and 'Dalitaru' (Dalits).

Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have been nursing chief ministerial ambitions and are also working towards consolidating their clout within the state Congress, ahead of the assembly polls in Karnataka next year.

There have been several instances of open display of one-upmanship between two leaders in the past.

Meanwhile, Shivakumar said, as part of 75 years of India's independence, a "Freedom March" will be held on August 15 for which the party will mobilise 75,000 people in Bengaluru.

Noting that the march will be held as per the AICC's directions, he said, in every district, a 75-km-long march will be held between August 1 and 10.

Also, party leaders will be reaching out to freedom fighters or their families during the marches, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)